


Bonds of Brotherhood

by Wellughthen



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherhood, Gen, One Piece AU, luffy's band of rogues, sabo makes it to marine ford, there is no romance in this so don't expect any, there's no way i can tag all of the people in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wellughthen/pseuds/Wellughthen
Summary: Luffy wanted desperately to save his brother from execution. With the help of Whitebeard and his brother that he thought was lost long ago, can Ace truly be saved?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I really just wanted to read this fic, but I couldn't find it. So I am writing my first ever fanfiction. I don't think anyone will read this, I'm just really writing it for myself, but if you do read it, I hope you enjoy it. This is just the prologue so it's very short, but later chapters will be longer. Also I'll update as often as possible, but I work over 40 hours a week, so I don't know how much time I'll have to write it. Anyway, enjoy!

Luffy stared in horror as he saw the blades start descending toward the lowered head of his older brother. “Don’t you dare!” he screamed and a surge of power poured out of him. He continued running towards the scaffolding where Ace was currently being held. He barely registered the executioners falling, their weapons useless in their now unconscious hands. Luffy only registered that for the time being, Ace was still alive, which meant Luffy continued on his path.

“Do you even realize what you just did?” Iva asked, staring in amazement at all of the marine soldiers and pirates dropping like flies around them. Luffy showed no sign of having any clue about the power he had just unleashed. All he knew was that he had to get to Ace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my brother for being my beta and dealing with my annoying ass. Also I would like to thank my roommate for offering to beta and I will probably take her up on it after this chapter. It's always best to get your work looked at multiple times so it's the best it can be. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has read this and left kudos! I love and appreciate you all. I have the day off of work today unexpectedly, so I might work on this a little bit. I don't want to wait too long between chapters to post, but it's difficult. I will try to post once a week on Sundays, starting this coming Sunday, but like I said, I work over 40 hours a week, so I can't make any promises. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

Sabo was a busy man. He was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army. He had been close to Dragon, the leader, for almost his whole life. In fact, his earliest memory was of Dragon saving his life. He had no recollection of his life from before he had met Dragon. He owed a lot to the man. Plus, he legitimately believed in the work the Revolutionary Army was doing. Lately, however, he was distracted. He kept hearing the same name on every mission he went on. He knew the world government was picking a fight with Whitebeard. They were planning on executing one of his commanders, Sabo couldn’t recall the name though. Sabo didn’t know why this was bothering him so much. With the world government focusing on this execution and the impending war with Whitebeard, it made it easier for the Revolutionary Army to do their work. 

But Sabo never could let things go. He had been having strange dreams lately and he felt like he was on the verge of remembering. For whatever reason, Sabo thought that this war between Whitebeard and the world government was important to him. He knew that however the war turned out would impact the rest of the world and that if the world government won, his job would be even more difficult. If Whitebeard were to die, Sabo shuddered at the thought, the world would collapse into chaos. Whitebeard may be a pirate, but his impact and protections couldn’t be overlooked by the Revolutionary Army.

Whitebeard seemed like a standup guy. Sabo knew that you couldn’t jude someone just because they called themselves a pirate. And if the world government was willing to go to all of that trouble just to kill a member of his pirate crew, then Sabo knew that Whitebeard had to be a decent guy. He was one of the greatest threats to the world government, right behind Dragon. Sabo often wondered what Dragon thought of Whitebeard, but Dragon wasn’t a very open person. He cared only about the people that he could be protecting. Whitebeard’s business was the business of a pirate, and Dragon let pirates be as long as they didn’t harm innocent civilians. Dragon wouldn’t go out of his way to help a pirate, even an upstanding one like Whitebeard, but he would use this war as a cover to further his own cause. Still, Sabo couldn’t help but wonder about Dragon’s opinion on all of this. There’s no way that he thought the commander deserved to die. From what Sabo could remember, the commander was pretty young, about his own age. Maybe he would ask Dragon about all of this at their next meeting, which Sabo was on his way to right now. He was walking down the longest hallway at their base.

Sabo hated this hallway, it seemed to never end. And Dragon insisted on having all of their meetings in the one room at the end. In the middle of the hallway was the codebreakers room. Sabo had a lot of respect for the guys that worked in that room. They just passed along information and didn’t get to see any action. Not that they weren’t trained in case the situation demanded it, but still. Sabo never could resist being in the middle of the fighting. Plus, unlike the poor codebreakers, he only had to walk down this hallway if Dragon called for a meeting. Which was happening more and more frequently. Maybe he wasn’t as lucky as he thought. At least the codebreakers only had to walk halfway down the hallway. Sabo wondered if they had picked up any good intel, and like always, he slowed his steps so he could hear what was being said.

“Hey, you gotta hear this,” one of the code breakers, Johnson, was talking to a new recruit. Sabo stopped walking to listen, always curious. “We just intercepted a transmission from Navy HQ. Apparently Straw Hat broke into Impel Down!”

Sabo shook his head and started to walk by. Some pirates bite off more than they can chew and Straw Hat was no exception.

“No way!” his friend replied. “Why would he do something so crazy?”

“No one knows. That Luffy kid sure does get around. First Ennies Lobby and now he’s tearing up Impel Down. Boy sure does have a lot of guts.”

Sabo stopped walking. Luffy. He had heard that name somewhere before. And now that he really thought about it, he had been dreaming about a straw hat for a few nights now. Sabo turned around and walked back into the room.

“Oh hey Sabo,” Johnson said, “Need something?”

“Yeah, actually,” Sabo replied, “Straw Hat Luffy. Do you have a picture of him anywhere?” Maybe seeing his picture might help Sabo scratch that itch in his mind. Once he got stuck on something, he couldn’t let it go until he figured it out. It probably had something to do with losing his memories. If he couldn’t figure out what he had lost, he could at least figure out the things right in front of him.

“Um, I think we might have his wanted poster around her somewhere. Hey Delio, check that drawer and see what we got in there,” Johnson instructed the recruit. Delio started digging around in the drawer, and he pulled out a stack of wanted posters and handed it to Sabo.

Sabo took the stack and started flipping through it. “Why do you want to see a picture of Straw Hat?” Johnson asked.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Sabo replied and then he found what he was looking for. A picture of a young kid with dark hair, wearing a straw hat and smiling at the camera. Sabo stared at the picture for what seemed like eternity. Something was nagging at him. He felt like he knew this pirate, but he couldn’t place from where.

“Well,” Delio said, “Straw Hat sure picked a hell of a time to break into Impel Down. They’re only hours away from handing over Portgas D. Ace to the navy.”

Sabo was still staring at the wanted poster when everything froze. Luffy. Ace. Straw Hat. And Suddenly he knew. Sabo knew everything that had been missing from his life for the past 10 years. “There’s a reason,” Sabo said, not looking away from the wanted poster.

“What?” Johnson said looking up at Sabo, “Oh hey Sabo. Are you okay?” Johnson asked, looking from Sabo to the now wrinkled wanted poster in his clenched hands.

“There’s a reason Straw Hat broke into Impel Down.”

“Oh yeah? You know why?” Johnson asked, curious.

“I need to go speak to Dragon.” And with that said, Sabo sprinted down the hall.

Sabo had to act fast. Straw Hat Luffy and Fire Fist Ace. He finally knew. Finally, he remembered. And he would be damned if he let that be taken from him once again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said I would try to post more regularly, but I am what I am and I am only human with very little time to write. I am doing my best to make time. But until I can get at least a semi-regular writing schedule, I am stuck with only writing when I can. Anyway, I'd like to thank bunnynumbers for being my beta. I love him. He is the best. Thank you everyone for leaving kudos on my work, they feed my ego and I love you all. Plz enjoy

Flames and smoke and ash and ice surrounded everyone on the battlefield. Whitebeard had just given his final order: live. Ace knew that he had to obey the last request of his father. He had to live.  
It was a bizarre feeling for Ace, wanting to carry on living. It used to be only Luffy that could make him feel this way. Well, Luffy and Sabo, but he had long since accepted that his other brother had died. He also had to carry on living for Sabo. If he died now, he was sure Sabo would kick his ass in the after life. He could only imagine what Sabo would say if he had seen Ace like this. He would be here fighting if he could, but he would give Ace hell for it later. It was weird, the things that were going through his head now that he nearly escaped execution. He had been thinking about his family a lot. Especially Sabo, and how hurt he had been when he had lost him. It made Ace wary open up to others again. But with Whitebeard, he had finally found a family again. He always had Luffy, of course, but it was different with Whitebeard and the others. Ace had always been the one looking after Luffy since they were kids, and now Luffy had his own friends looking after him. He didn’t have to worry about his brother anymore (not that it stopped him from worrying, but it was reassuring that Luffy wasn’t alone). Now with the Whitebeard pirates, he wasn’t the older brother watching out for his younger brother; they were always constantly protecting each other, and right now they were the ones protecting him. He took a minute to look at Whitebeard, his true father, knowing it was going to be for the last time, before turning around and following Luffy.  
For the first time in his life, Ace was following behind Luffy, instead of the other way around. He had known the Luffy had gotten stronger and that he wasn’t a snot-nosed kid anymore, but it was a new feeling, being the one following. Although, if he were being honest, Luffy had been pulling Ace along for most of their lives. There was something about Luffy that just inspired people, no wonder he had found such great friends. He may be leaving his father behind, but the future looked bright as long as Luffy was still in it.  
The pride Ace felt for his younger brother did not last long. He had been so close to freedom when the taunting started. Akainu, a Navy Admiral, insulted Whitebeard. A red hot rage shot through Ace’s body. It had been a long time since he had experienced heat. The flame-flame fruit had made hotter temperatures difficult to feel, but he felt it now. His whole body burned with hatred for the admiral standing before him. Akainu truly understood nothing. He was just another heartless marine, who judged pirates simply by what they chose to call themselves. He may be a pirate, but that didn’t mean that Whitebeard wasn’t the most caring and wonderful man on the seas. He couldn’t stand there while Akainu spread lies and tarnished the good name of his father.  
“You’re wrong,” Ace growled, “there’s nothing fake about the family he gave us. And I wouldn’t expect a heartless bastard like you to appreciate that.” This burning feeling was nothing new now. This was the burning he felt before he lost control and let loose with his devil fruit.  
“Like I said, he convinced you punks you meant something to the world,” Akainu replied, “But you’re kind doesn’t deserve a home. You deserve the gallows!”  
“Can it!” Ace screamed at him.  
“You know it’s true! You’ll all die as failures and Whitebeard is nothing but a lonely old fool!”  
“Whitebeard is the greatest pirate who ever lived, you hear me! You don’t know anything about the man who saved my life!” Ace let go of his control and allowed his flames to surround him. “This is his era! Don’t you forget it!” he let loose a punch that would have destroyed any lesser marine. Akainu retaliated with his magma.  
Ace had never known such pure heat. It was clear that Akainu’s magma was hotter than his flames as he got thrown back. Akainu continued his taunting Ace about his devil fruit and his family while Ace was unable to move from the ground. Ace understood. Akainu was no match for him. Ace had only experienced a brief moment of being overheated by his rage and hatred. Akainu had years of practice. Here was a man who was so corrupted by hatred that he was willing to murder for it. Ace saw the man he could have become if it hadn’t been for Luffy, Sabo, Dadan, or even Garp. Ace could have let his anger at the world destroy him and eat him from the inside out until he unleashed it towards anyone and anything that didn’t fit into his mold. But he had been loved. Even now, he knew what it was like to be loved. Akainu had never known that sort of unconditional love, and that was clear to Ace as he saw Akainu take aim and attempt to do the impossible.  
Akainu took aim, not at Ace, but at Luffy. In a split second, Ace’s world shattered. More than if he had died on that scaffolding. More than leaving Whitebeard behind to die. Ace’s heart could not take losing Luffy. He had already lost one brother, he couldn’t lose another, especially not the brother that he had promised to protect. He had promised Sabo. He had promised him that he would protect Luffy. What a failure he had been. Luffy had come here, to this hell, to save him. And now Luffy would die. Ace couldn’t let that happen. In an instant, he had moved, and was standing between Akainu and Luffy, facing his brother. If he died here, it would be expected, and the world would go on even if he didn’t. But if Luffy had died here, Ace would be left with nothing. He would have failed. If Luffy died here, than so would he. If he died, Luffy would eventually move on, he would continue on his path and become the King of the Pirates. So Ace made the only decision he could make, it wasn’t even really a decision, it was just what had to be done. Ace moved to stand between Akainu and Luffy, knowing that he would be between his brother and that fatal blow. Ace would die protecting his family. And he was honored.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile since I've updated. I don't really have an excuse except I got stuck and had to figure out a way to get myself unstuck in this story. It's not the longest chapter, but it's my favorite so far. I'll try to be better at updating this. Anyway, enjoy!

OPF Chapter 5:  
Sabo was still miles away from Marine Ford. He could hear the sounds of the ongoing war and he prayed he wasn’t too late. He was travelling as fast as he could; he knew that he was strong enough to help. He wouldn’t be a hindrance. He could save Ace. He could be the difference between life and death for his brother. It was a bit of a fight to get Dragon to let him come here, but considering he had finally regained his memories, and was about to lose everything again, Dragon relented.

Hold on Ace. Hold on Luffy. I’m on my way.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Luffy looked up in horror, somehow knowing that in a split second, Ace would be dealt a fatal blow, and there was nothing that could be done about it. He struggled to move, but his body wouldn’t listen. He knew that this was over. His brother was dead and he had failed.  
Quick as a flash of light, Luffy was lifted off the ground and had moved over several feet. A strange blonde man with a strangely familiar hat was carrying both him and Ace. “Just in time!” he exclaimed.  
Luffy and Ace stared at this man in shock. “Who are you?” Ace asked. “I don’t know who you are but you just saved us so thank you!” Luffy beamed at the strange man.  
Sabo smiled at his brothers, “I know it’s been awhile, but I got my memories back. I rushed over here to save you, I couldn’t just let them kill my brothers.”  
Ace and Luffy looked at each other and back at Sabo before realization dawned on both of them.  
“Sabo!” they cried and flung their arms around him. Sabo laughed, hugging them back. “I missed you guys too!”  
“We thought you died, Sabo, what the hell?” Ace asked, smiling. “Either way, I am so glad you’re here. You saved not only Luffy, but me as well. I guess you really are the older brother.”  
“We got a lot to catch up on, but for now, let’s focus on getting out of here.”  
They looked around and saw the pirates around them celebrating, and the marines were confused and scared.  
“What is the Chief of Staff of the revolutionary army doing saving a lowly pirate?” Akainu asked Sabo.  
Sabo glared up at him, “Can’t a guy come say hello to his brothers without having to explain himself to the likes of you?”  
Brothers, Sabo heard the whispers start. Pirates and marines alike were all whispering. There’s another brother. A third brother. Revolutionary army? What’s with these three brothers? How are they all so strong?  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It took quite a lot to rattle Whitebeard. He had led his crew into a battle unlike any before, but not without knowledge and a strategy. He knew Ace’s family, knew his past. But not everything. It turns out Ace had hidden one more secret from him. Whitebeard never cared about Ace’s family. Didn’t care that he was Roger’s son, but who could have possibly guessed that he was related to the second in command of the Revolutionary Army. Straw Hat Luffy had come here with Ivankoff. The Revolutionary Army had a role to play here too, and that was something Whitebeard could never have foreseen. This was his fight, he wasn’t interested in help from Dragon. But he supposed he couldn’t stop Ace’s own brother from helping, after all, he let that scrawny twerp fight, so he couldn’t turn his nose up at letting someone of Sabo’s strength from helping.  
“So Ace has another brother,” Whitebeard laughed, “looks like the navy bit off more than they could chew this time.”


End file.
